Planning a funeral for your loved one—or even for yourself—entails a lot of time and attention to detail. And if you’re not sure which option is the best for your loved one’s needs and desires, you could look to recent funeral trends and choose something that could be both beautiful and beneficial. Read on to learn more about cremation as a funeral trend and how it could be the right choice for you.

Save on Funeral Costs

Perhaps the most common reason why cremation has become a more popular arrangement over burial is because of the lower costs. If you’re on a limited budget or you simply want to spend more on other aspects of a memorial service, cremation allows you to lay your loved one to rest without stressing about how much it will cost.

Cremation costs less than a traditional burial depending on your preferences and other funeral expenses. Do you want something simple and elegant? A basic cremation and small service can cost thousands of dollars less than a traditional funeral and burial.

Make a difference after death

No matter how your loved one lived their life, their presence and influence in the world will be missed. So why not allow them to continue making a difference?

Cremation ultimately helps the environment because it consumes fewer resources and less energy in the process. People are also more invested in reducing their carbon footprints during life, and this goal can continue even after death. Cremation can reduce more environmental impacts compared to traditional burial.

For example, traditional burials require a wooden casket, which requires lumber and puts increased strain on forests around the globe. The embalming process involves a few different chemicals to prepare a body for burial. This can negatively impact the environment as those chemicals absorb into the surrounding land and potentially find their way into underground water sources.

Likewise, cremation reduces the need for land and the environmental impacts related to land consumption. Land is becoming increasingly sparse, with one international report stating that some cemeteries will no longer have any land left to use for burials.

Keep your loved ones closer

Rather than burying a loved one and laying them to rest in a cemetery kilometres from your home, keep them close by so you can remember and converse with them—or just sit peacefully nearby as you heal and move through their passing.

After cremation, you can place ashes in an urn that you can keep in your home in a highly regarded place. You can also look for modernised urns that further allow you to memorialise the dearly departed. For example, some urns are made of stainless steel with a porcelain center so you can include a picture of your loved one on the urn.

Celebrate life

Some of the most recent funeral trends center on celebrating life instead of mourning death and loss. When you lose a loved one, every feeling matters immensely, but many people have found ways to focus on remembering their family and friends and honouring them with joy and light. Many people personalise the funeral services and post-service remembrance of their loved ones.

One way to bring about this celebration of life is to scatter your loved one’s ashes along their favourite outdoor locale—just make sure to check with local authorities or city officials to make sure you can legally do so.

Funeral planning is often a stressful affair for family members. This is especially true when loved ones die unexpectedly. Below is a funeral planning checklist to help you plan your loved one’s funeral and give them a befitting send-off.

1. Choose a funeral home

Once you become aware of your loved one’s passing, your immediate task is to decide where you want to keep their remains. Do not choose your funeral home on a whim. Instead, conduct due diligence and thorough assessments to identify funeral homes that offer quality services and ease the logistics of planning and executing the funeral. Always check out their service costs and base your research on that.

The general rule is that the funeral home should be close to the burial site, the crematorium or the deceased’s home. This ensures that friends and family have an easy time viewing the body and preparing it for burial or cremation. Examine client reviews, seek testimonials and check the funeral home’s catalogue to determine the range and quality of services offered at the funeral home.

Visit the funeral home to establish the hygiene standards observed and how the staff handle the remains. If you intend to hold a wake or memorial service at the funeral home, assess the availability of amenities such as adequate parking, security and conference halls.

Ask about specific details, such as if they have their own funeral parlour or if they use outside contractors. Additionally, if you choose cremation for your loved one, ensure that the funeral home uses a crematorium that is either nearby your home or one that you or the deceased chose. Many funeral homes have a large service area, so verify that the funeral home can accommodate you.

2. Establish the deceased’s wishes

It is common for the deceased to have wishes regarding their funeral and how to handle their remains. For instance, maybe they wanted their body cremated or buried at a particular spot. Consult with other family members and check the deceased’s will to establish if they had any end-of-life wishes.

In some cases, your loved one may have had a pre-paid funeral plan. If they did, contact the funeral director who organised the policy to know the costs that the policy will cover. This helps bring down the funeral costs and reduces the stress of planning the funeral.

3. Set a funeral date

You will need to conduct thorough assessments before setting the funeral date. For instance, if your loved one died in hospital, you will have to receive clearance from the hospital before transferring or burying the remains. Additionally, the family members need adequate time to grieve and view the body.

Whom do you intend to invite for the burial or cremation? In some cases, close family such as offspring or spouses could be far away or have tight engagements. Therefore, you need to inquire about their availability when you set the funeral date. Additionally, consider religious and cultural beliefs that prescribe the burial process.

4. Hire a Funeral Director

A funeral director assists grieving families with all aspects of laying their loved ones to rest. The director coordinates the funeral planning process and acts as the point person on the funeral date. Below are the services that funeral directors offer:

• Preparing the funeral program together with close family members
• Coordinating with the funeral home regarding body preservation techniques, cleaning the body and preparing the remains for the burial or cremation
• Finding a suitable cemetery plot if the family prefers a ground burial
• Providing essential event planning services such as tents, chairs, lighting and catering
• Organising funeral logistics such as transporting the body, planning guest transport and marshalling traffic on the funeral date

Your choice of funeral director must have adequate experience in the field. Since the director will work with your close friends and family, the director must have exceptional interpersonal skills. Excellent reviews from families who have worked with the director are an added advantage. Do not forget to ask for a rate card and their terms and conditions.

Most importantly, choose a funeral director who you can trust. As they will handle all the details for your loved one’s send-off, you need to establish a good relationship with them. Make sure to speak to more than one funeral director until you find one you find a rapport with.

The funeral budget is a concern for people pre-planning their funerals and those organising a funeral for their loved ones. The looming issue for most people is how they can cut funeral costs without making a lot of compromises. This extract proposes a few ways to manage funeral costs.

1. Consider Pre-Paid Funeral Plans

Most people are sceptic about pre-paid funeral plans since they are an upfront cost. However, they are the easiest way to ensure your loved ones’ peace of mind once you pass away. Pre-paid funeral plans work like life insurance policies; they pay your funeral expenses.

There are several reasons to consider a pre-paid funeral plan. For example, the funeral plan accrues interest over the years. You can use this interest to cater to personal matters since it is not included in the funeral expenses.

Also, ensure that you work with a funeral service provider that understands the costs that a funeral can bring. Funeral service providers that provide comprehensive and cost-effective plans are often ideal to work with, as you can provide the service your departed loved one deserves without damaging your budget.

Look out for the following when taking the policy:

• Check the expenses that the policy covers. Ideally, it should pay for essential services such as the mortuary, cremation, cemetery and funeral director.
• Assess the payment plans. An ideal plan should have flexible payments to prevent you from straining your finances.
• Inquire when you can cash out some of your funds. Remember, the funeral plan can also act as a revolving emergency plan.
• Examine the policy terms. For example, can you make amendments? Can you choose your director? Will the plan work if you die in another state or country? Can you upgrade the plan?

2. Work With an Experienced Funeral Director

Your choice of director will significantly affect the funeral costs. Therefore, you should work with an experienced individual who understands every aspect of the funeral planning process.

An experienced funeral director will draw a funeral plan detailing the preparation activities. Besides, they will assess your needs and give a wide range of options to ensure you give your loved one a befitting send-off without blowing the bank. For example, if you wish to cremate your loved one, they will inform you about cremation options such as an ash scattering service, direct, memorial or traditional cremation.

Funeral directors offer comprehensive packages as they plan your funeral. Working with them prevents you from meeting and working with different service providers, which is not only strenuous but expensive. Besides, you are guaranteed discounts and flexible payments.

3. Prioritise the Essentials

An oversight made by most people is that they fail to prioritise the essentials as they plan the funeral. For example, they could spend a significant amount entertaining guests that visit their home before paying the funeral home. As a result, they exceed the funeral budget.

You can avoid this by listing priorities once you commence the funeral planning process. For example, you could pay the funeral director, funeral home, and cemetery costs at the earliest possible stage. It guarantees you have a funeral even if the budget gets depleted.

When planning a funeral, cut costs by considering pre-paid funeral plans, work with an experienced director and prioritise the essentials.

There are two parts to a pre-arrangement: pre-arrangement and pre-payment.

Pre-arrangement is where we hold the paperwork for someone’s funeral and can act when the time comes. People can do this to have peace of mind that everything is completed, and they don’t need to worry about paperwork and information when they are grieving.

Pre-payment is where they can pre-pay their funeral or cremation. We use a funeral bond company called Sureplan that holds the money for when the time comes.

We use Sureplan for a number of reasons. You receive flexibility in payments you can pay up front or have a payment plan. You can stop and start a payment plan at any time. Sureplan is also safe. They have been around for many years. Money accrues interest which accounts for our price increases. The money doesn’t account against your asset test if you are on the pension and also the interest earned doesn’t get taxed.

A few years ago, people might have been shocked to learn that you are pre-planning your funeral. However, given the challenging economic times and increased funeral costs, pre-planned funerals have become quite popular. If you wish to pre-plan your funeral, read this guide to learn the various aspects of a pre-planned funeral.

A funeral fund

The primary objective of a pre-planned funeral is to ensure your friends and family have a hassle-free experience as they lay you to rest. Therefore, explore ideas on how you will fund the event. You could either take a pre-paid funeral plan or set up a funeral fund.

If you opt to set up a funeral fund, open a joint bank account with a trusted family member or beneficiary. Make regular contributions to this account. Once you die, the money becomes available to your beneficiary.

One of the downsides of a funeral fund is that you may lack the discipline to make regular contributions. Besides, you can’t be certain that your loved one will use the funds as you instructed. For example, they may opt to pay funeral costs that were not part of your initial agreement.

Pre-paid funeral plans are a suitable alternative since they operate more or less like an insurance cover. Accredited funeral homes and directors sell these policies. The law requires the director or funeral home to use it for the agreed purposes.

When applying for the policy, your guiding principle is that you should work with reputable directors and funeral homes.

Consult with the policy provider to establish what the pre-paid funeral plan pays. Additionally, assess the payment plans. More often than not, these are negotiable to ensure you have an easy time paying the policy.

Your final resting wishes

Your family and friends will have numerous ideas on how to give you a befitting send-off. In some cases, they will conflict since each person might assume they know what is best for you. A pre-planned funeral enables you to decide how you want to plan and execute your funeral.

Below are some things to consider when writing your final wishes:

• What your preferred funeral is. This could be a cremation, ground, in-ground or natural burial.
• How you want people to handle your remains. For example, you may want to turn your ashes into jewellery or bury your body at a specific site.
• Who the guest speakers at your funeral are. This could be anyone from family members to co-workers or friends.
• What your last words are. For instance, you would want a speech read out to guests during the funeral.

The funeral director

Some people underrate the importance of the funeral director. However, they are a crucial part of the pre-planning process. After all, you likely want a professional to plan your funeral and follow your wishes to the letter.

A funeral director allows your family to mourn your death without worrying about funeral arrangements such as moving the body, leasing a burial site, inviting guests and arranging wakes. Experienced funeral directors will go a mile further to offer counselling services to help your family cope with grief.

When hiring the director, your primary concern should be their experience and ability to work with your family members. Use due diligence to establish how the director relates to other clients. Moreover, ask for a rate card to determine if their services are within your budget.

There is a misconception that the only options for a memorial or funeral service are traditional. These may be traditional graveside services or chapel services. The truth is, there are several options available. These options are unique and can offer a final send-off and goodbye to your loved one that fits their personality and their lifestyle. Here are a few ideas to consider for you or your loved one.

Sky lantern

A lantern release is a memorial option that many people consider. You can do this release in several ways. The traditional method is to use floating paper lanterns. The lanterns raise in the air from the heat of a small tea-light candle. There are other ways you can observe this memorial.

For example, you can use memorial paper lanterns. These may be plain or have the person’s memorial information on them. You may also include the cremation ashes in each of the lanterns. Heaving farewell messages inside of or printed on the lanterns is an option as well.

With this type of memorial release, you will need to check local laws. There may be specific times when lantern releases can happen. There may also be specific types of lanterns that can be used.

Butterfly release

A butterfly release memorial is increasing in popularity with many people. This type of release uses live monarch butterflies. The butterflies are released at the end of the memorial ceremony. There are several beliefs regarding this type of memorial release and the symbol of using butterflies. Some believe butterflies signify the transition from this life to the next.

Butterfly release memorials are ideal if you are looking for an eco-friendly option to incorporate into the memorial. The butterflies go into nature and do not harm the land, plant life, or environment as a whole. You can choose other butterflies if monarchs are not ideal.

You can also work with a butterfly breeder or butterfly house to help confine the area of the release and keep the butterflies safe in a sanctuary area.

Floating lantern boats

Toro Nagashi is a Japanese memorial using floating paper boats. The boats, or memorials, are placed on the water. A small candle inside of the boats is lit and the boats are pushed lightly along the water. The water then takes the boats out to a lake, river, or ocean. Lanterns can be personalized or they can be plain. The lanterns are usually made of a biodegradable material that will not harm the environment.

If you would like to memorialize your loved one with this type of ceremony, you may have several options. These options can be the memorial information placed on the lanterns or the cremation ashes on the boat lanterns. You can also choose to have the release on a small lake or pond to confine the lanterns to one area or use a wide-open space that naturally occurs and flows.

Seed release

A seed release is a way to help say goodbye to your loved one while giving something back to the environment. During this type of memorial, the seeds of a specific plant or wildflower are released into the area. Nature will take its course and the seeds will begin to grow over time. There are several options for seed releases and their accompanying memorial services.

For example, you can choose to have all of the ashes placed in a biodegradable urn containing a tree seed. This tree, along with the ashes, will grow in the area. You can also have individual memorial seed packs for the event. Some people also mix the ashes with seeds and place the mixture into memorial bags for planting.